Cats can always tell if they're wanted

It has been quite a while since I have had a cat living in my home. But recently my visiting son and daughter-inlaw brought their cat along with them on a visit.

I had cats of both sexes most of my life, but they were all what I always referred to as outdoor cats. They always slept in our garages - in fact, my last cat, Schatzie, a tiger stripe, delivered all her kittens in her private space there.

Schatzie (a German name meaning dear one) spent her life roaming the woods around the lake at the edge of our property in the rural area west of Philadelphia. She was well able to hunt and often brought me little tributes - usually some hapless shrew she had killed. She was known to get the best of a few squirrels, too.

Where exactly she found a mate in our area was always a matter of conjecture, but she delivered four fine kittens, three of which were subsequently adopted by our friends. The last one we kept, and tagged with another German name, Liebchen, which means sweetheart. Both mother and son were handsome cats.

Well, all these years later, Boris has been brought for a long visit, and seems to be a far cry from any cat I have had before. He is a somewhat tubby black and white cat, and far from being a rugged outdoorsman, he's very much an indoor type. Boris spends most of his time lolling about on sofas and beds.

Well, we are getting used to each other, and my daughterin law tells me that all cats can tell when someone is a cat person. So, I expect we will become fond of one another - we do have one thing in common - we both are concerned to always appear well groomed. But thank heaven I don't have to use my tongue to keep up my appearance.

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Are you a recent retiree in the Gulf Breeze area? If so, I imagine you may have heard some of the stories about the 1980's and 90's UFO sightings that were widely reported to have taken place in our area. Now there is an opportunity to get accurate as well as interesting accounts of these sightings!

You will want to join Unlimited Horizons of the Emerald Coast members at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the South Santa Rosa Recreation Center, 800 Shoreline Drive, to hear Art Hufford, a writer who says he had such a sighting in 1987. Hufford will speak about what he calls "the real story" at the meeting. Of special interest will be more than 100 slides of the sightings that will be shown. The suggested donation is $7 at the door.

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Have you been promising yourself that you will sign up for line dancing this year? Well, here's your chance! A 13-week special begins on Jan. 10 at Hobbs Middle School, located at 5317 Grover Lane, Milton.

The $50 donation guarantees a fun-filled dance session every week through April 13. Join other seniors enjoying this healthful way to stay active and feel young again. Call 850-623-4235 for further information.

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As we enter a new year, here's a fascinating fact - Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. I can see you now looking for your tape measure . . . See you next week!